-7 3 

Sir Archibald Campbell 



OF INVERNEILL 



Sometime Prisoner of War 
In the Jail at Concord, Massachusetts 



CHARLES H." WALCOTT 



miustratet) 



Printed for the Author by Thomas Todd 

aseacon press 

14 Beacon Street, Boston 









27385 



Copyright, iScA. 
By Charles H. WAtcoTx. 



■0-u;», ricC iV£0, 






^ 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



I. Coat of Arms of Sir Archibald Campbell, K.B. vii 

II. Inverneill House. On Loch Fyne, Argyllshire, the home 

of Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell's father. 12 

III. Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell. From portrait at Inverneill 

House. Artist unknown; perhaps by Allan Ramsay. 18 

IV. Old Jail, Concord. From a water-color drawing now 
preserved in the Concord Free Pu^^lic Library, and 
supposed to have been made by Campbell himself 
while a prisoner. 26 

V. Sir Archibald Campbell. From portrait at Inverneill 

House. Artist unknown ; perhaps by Ramsay. 52 

VI. Lady Campbell, wife of Sir Archibald, holding in her 
hand a miniature of her husband. From portrait at 
Inverneill House. Artist unknown ; perhaps by 
Ramsay, 58 



PRKK ACE. 



This sketch of the life of a distinguished British officer 
arises indirectly from researches made at various times, for 
several years past, into the history of my native town. Shat- 
tuck's History does not mention Campbell, and later writers, 
who have alluded to his confinement in the old Concord jail, 
have given us no particulars as to his early life, or how he 
was taken prisoner, or what were the later fortunes of his life. 
Faint suggestions were encountered here and there of a dis- 
tinguished career and a monument in Westminster Abbey, but 
the name Archibald Campbell was borne by many contempo- 
raries in Scotland, and who could identify the distinguished 
general who reposes in the famous Abbey as one and the 
same with the prisoner of Concord ? It was enough to excite 
one's curiosity to learn who our sometime prisoner really was, 
how he came to be a prisoner, how long he remained here, 
and what became of him afterwards. As the inquiry pro- 
ceeded it became evident that we were dealing with no 
ordinary man ; one question led to another, friends on both 
sides of the Atlantic lent kindly aid and encouragement, and 
now that it is finished, the author ventures to hope that this 
sketch will be thought to possess some interest and value as 
a contribution to the history of our country at a time when 
its great destiny depended upon the true judgment and steady 
purpose of George Washington more than upon all else besides, 
vii 



Thanks are due to my friends, Mr. Edward W. Emerson 
and Miss Alicia M. Keyes, of Concord, for much valuable 
assistance and advice. For the beautiful photographs of Inver- 
neill House and of the family portraits preserved there I am 
indebted to the kindness of Lieutenant-Colonel Duncan Camp- 
bell, the present proprietor of Inverneill House, and to Miss 
Jane K. McDonald, of Gareloch. 

Concord, Mass., 
October, 1898. 



Tiii 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



T^owards the last of April in the year 1776, at 
Greenock, on the west coast of Scotland, the 
71st Regiment of Highlanders embarked for New 
England to assist in the work of suppressing the 
rebellion which had arisen in these parts. 

The colonel of the regiment was Simon 
Fraser, Lord of Lovat and member of Parlia- 
ment, by whose exertions mainly and at whose 
expense this force was raised expressly for service 
in America. Sir William Erskine, afterwards 
quartermaster-general at New York, was lieuten- 
ant-colonel of the ist battalion; the senior officer 
of the 2d battalion was Lieutenant-Colonel 
Archibald Campbell, and next in command was 
Major Robert Menzies — all of them brave, expe- 
rienced, and trustworthy officers. General David 
Stewart says of the officers of this regiment: 

" Sir William Erskine, Sir Archibald Camp- 
bell, Major Menzies, Major Macdonell of Loch 
Garry, and Major Lament were officers of great 
experience and approved talents, while three- 
fourths of the others were accomplished gentle- 
men." 

Of these, Campbell was born August 21, 1739, 
at the castle of Dunderaive, near Inverary, now 



lO SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

in ruins, where his father, James Campbell of 
Inverneill,' was then living as Chamberlain of 
Argyll. James Campbell was also Commissary 
of the Western Isles, and Hereditary Usher of 
the White Rod for Scotland. 

In the spring of 1776 Archibald, the second 
son, was in his thirty-seventh year, and had 
already seen considerable service in the army. 
From 1757 to the peace of 1763 he served in 
the corps of engineers, most of the time as 
captain, and took part in an expedition to the 
French coast, in the conquest of Guadaloupe, 
Dominique, Martinico, and St. Lucia, and in 
the conquest of Granada. After peace was re- 
established the position of chief engineer in 
the Venetian service was offered him, with high 
rank and emoluments, but he preferred rather to 
go to Bengal in 1767 as chief engineer, with the 
rank of lieutenant-colonel. During the following 
six years, to quote the words of his younger 
brother, Campbell " acquired additional marks of 
distinction from his sovereign, and an independ- 
ent fortune, with an unblemished reputation." 
In 1774 Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell was elected 



'A view of Inverneill House is here given reproduced from a 
recent photograph. It is situated on the west shore of Loch Fyne 
and is surrounded by magnificent timber, especially silver firs of 
enormous size. The garden is said to be the oldest walled garden 
in the county of Argyll, and has curious serpentine walks, quaint 
circular turrets, and high stone archways. 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. n 

representative in Parliament for the district of 
Boroughs of Stirling, etc., but, upon the out- 
break of hostilities in America, he co-operated 
with Fraser in raising the 71st Regiment of 
Highlanders, which, as already stated, set sail 
from Greenoch in the spring of 1776. 

The regiment was embarked upon seven ships 
and was accompanied by an armed vessel as con- 
voy. The transports were also armed for their 
own defense, as will hereafter appear. 

The names of the transports were the 
" George," " Experiment," " Annabella," " Mill- 
ham," " Henry and Joseph," " Lord Howe," and 
" Ann," each carrying about one hundred men 
and officers. Campbell was on board the 
" George," which carried an armament of three 
four-pounders and two three-pounders. The sail- 
ing orders for the fleet are preserved in a book 
which has recently come into the possession of 
the Concord Antiquarian Society through the 
kindness of Mr. Benjamin Derby.' Minute 



' This interesting relic was recently discovered in an attic and 
contains sixteen closely written pages of orders, etc., including a 
"quarter bill," assigning to the men on the "George" transport 
their respective positions in case of action, and the rolls of the first 
second, and third watches on the same vessel. Only a small por' 
tion of the book was actually used for the purpose for which it 
was intended. It became the spoil of war, and passed into the 
possession of Edward Heywood, a cooper, who turned the book 
end for end and wrote on the inside of the cover: "Edw* Heywood, 
his Book, September y' 28, 1778." The entries made by him show 
that it was used as an ordinary book of accounts down to 1809. 



12 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

directions were herein set down for preserving 
the health of the soldiers. The bedding was 
to be brought on deck and thoroughly aired 
every day when the weather should permit. 
The berths were to be swept clean and sprinkled 
with vinegar, and " pitch pots " burnt between 
decks " to improve and correct the air." Ventilators, 
or windsails, were to be used to convey fresh air 
below the decks, ports and scuttles were required 
to be thrown open as often as possible, and other 
regulations were made for the health and comfort 
of the voyagers. The men were to be frequently 
exercised in the use of arms, especially in priming, 
loading, leveling and firing at a mark. They wore 
the Highland bonnet, red regimental coats, and 
vests of the same color, which, however, it may be 
inferred, were sometimes worn, on informal occa- 
sions, with the red side next the person. The 
soldiers were also supplied with " frocks ;" and in 
case of alarm in the night time, the orders were 
that they should " put on their frocks or the read- 
iest Cloathing without distinction," but if an 
alarm should be given by day, coats and vests 
must be donned, " the red sides out." Officers 
and men were divided into three watches of four 
hours each, lights and fires were required to be 
put out at eight o'clock in the evening, and careful 
provision was made for the care of the sick, as well 
as for guarding the powder and liquors. For 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



13 



arms the men were supplied with fire-locks, 
swords, cartridge-boxes and shot-pouches. 

In the third week of the voyage a violent 
gale arose and separated the fleet from the convoy, 
scattering the transports in all directions. Some 
found their way safely to New York ; but the 
" George," " Experiment," " Annabella," " Millham," 
and " Henry and Joseph " remained together for 
some time longer, and on May 18 Campbell 
assumed command of the fleet, or all that re- 
mained of it, and issued new regulations pre- 
scribing signals by means of which he could 
communicate with the other transports, and they 
with him. 

After seven weary weeks at sea, the " George" 
and " Annabella," bearing two companies of the 
71st Regiment, sighted Cape Ann, and at day- 
light on June 16 they were at the entrance 
to Boston harbor.' No vessel had been met 
which could have given them any news, and 
they were in complete ignorance of the fact 
that the town had been evacuated by the British 
forces even before the expedition had set out 



'Campbell says that it was "on the 17th at daylight," but 
apparently he is in error, for Price's diary, printed in the Pro- 
ceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Vol. 7, p. 257, 
states, under date of " Sunday, June 16," that firing was heard 
in the bay that afternoon, and that the prisoners were landed on 
the 17th. General Greene's order about the funeral was issued 
on the i8th, the day on which Major Menzies was buried. 



14 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

from Scotland. Banks, the English commodore, 
was blamed for not leaving behind him one or two 
cruisers to warn vessels that might approach the 
harbor;' but, in point of fact, he lingered in the 
lower harbor with his fleet, presumably for this 
very purpose, as late as June 14, nearly three 
months after the evacuation of the town, and 
was at last driven away by a vigorous cannon- 
ade directed from Hull and Paddock's Island and 
Long Island. These timely operations of the 
Americans, planned by General Benjamin Lin- 
coln, were successfully carried out under the 
direction of Colonel Whitcomb ^ only two days 
before the ill-fated transports arrived at the mouth 
of the harbor with the re-inforcements. 

In the confident expectation of a friendly 
welcome, and eager to reach the land and the 
end of a tedious voyage, the luckless expedition, 
without a convoy, headed for the inner harbor. 
They knew not that the " Ann " transport, under 
command of Captain Hamilton Maxwell of the 
ist battalion, had already been waylaid, a week 



' Thomas Jones, in his History of New York during the Revolu- 
tionary War, Vol. I, p. 54, complains that no cruisers were left 
behind by Commodore Banks to warn approaching vessels, and 
says that "one or two frigates stationed in the bay would have 
prevented all this mischief." According to Stewart, "a ship was 
left behind to give notice to ships not to enter the harbour, but was 
itself blown off in a gale of wind." 

^ Frothingham, Siege of Boston, p. 314, note; Bowen's Life of 
Benjamin Lincoln, p. 229. 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



15 



before, by privateers who carried ship and cargo 
into Marblehead ; ' and even if they had known 
this, it is not likely that a different course would 
have been taken, for, according to their latest in- 
formation, Boston was an English post and the 
place of their destination. 

How the transports were attacked and how 
nobly they acquitted themselves is best told in 
the language of the lieutenant-colonel command- 
ing, in his report to Sir William Howe dated at 
Boston June 19, 1776. The battle, which from a 
military or naval point of view was creditable to 
all concerned, has not received much notice from 
the historians, with the one exception of Dr. 
William Gordon, who appears to have been mainly 
indebted for his information to Campbell's report : 

"We found ourselves," says Campbell, "opposite to 
the harbour's mouth of Boston, but from contrary winds 
it was necessary to make several Tacks to reach it. 
Four Schooners, which we took to be Pilots or armed 
vessels in the Service of His Majestie (but which was 
afterwards found to be four american Privateer of 8 
Carriage guns, 12 S we veils & 40 men each), were 
bearing down upon us at 4 o'clock in the morning. At 
half an hour thereafter two of them engaged us and 
about 7 o'clock the other two were close alongside. 

The George transport, on board of which Maj*" 
Menzies & I with 108 of the 2'^ Batt° the adjutant, 



*On June lo the parole given out at the headquarters in Boston 
was " Highlanders," and the countersign was " Taken." Mass. Hist. 
Soc. Proc, 1878, p. 357. 



i6 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

the Q" Master 2 Lieutenants and five Volunteers 
were passengers, had only six piece of Cannon to op- 
pose and the Annabella, on board of which was Capt. 
M'Kinzie together with 2 Subalterns volunteers and 
82 private of the i** Batt°, had only two S we veils 
for her defence — under such Circumstances I thought it 
expedient for the Annabella to keep ahead of the George 
that our artillery might be used with more Effect and 
less Obstruction. Two of the Privateers having stationed 
themselves on our larborde Quarter and two upon our 
Starboard quarter, a tollerable Cannonade ensued which 
with very few intermissions lasted till four in the Evening 
when the Enemy bore away and anchored in Plymouth 
harbour. Our Loss upon this occasion was only three 
men mortally wounded on board the George ; one killed 
& one man slightly wounded on Board the Annabella. 
As my orders were for the Port of Boston I thought 
it my Duty at this happy Crisis to push forward into the 
Harbour not doubting I should receive protection either 
from a Fort or some ship of Force stationed there for 
the Security of our F"leet. Towards the Close of the 
Evening, we perceived the 4 Schooners that were en- 
gaged with us in the morning joined by the Brig Defence 
of 16 Carriage Guns 20 swevells & 117 [men] and a 
schooner of eight Carriage Guns 12 swevells & 40 men 
get under way and make towards us. As we stood up 
for Nantasket road an American Battery opened upon 
us ; which was the first serious proof we had that there 
could scarcely be any friends of ours at Boston ; and we 
were too far Embayed to retreat especially as the wind 
had died away and the Tyde of flood not half expended. 
After each of the vessells having twice run aground we 
anchored at Georges Island' & prepared for action, but 
the Annabella by some misfortune got aground so far 
astern of the George, we could expect but a feeble 



* Now occupied by Fort Warren, the principal defense of the 
harbor. 



SIR ARCH/BALD CAMPBELL. 



17 



support from her musquetry. About 1 1 o Clock two of 
the Schooners anchored right on our Bow and one right 
astern of us. The armed Brig took her Station on our 
Starboard side at the distance of two hundred yards and 
hailed us to strike the British Flag. Altho the mate of 
our Ship, and every Sailor on board (the Capt. only ex- 
cepted) refused positively to fight any longer, I have the 
pleasure to Inform you that there was not an officer non- 
commissioned officer or private man of the 71st, but stood 
to their Quarters with a ready and chearful Obedience. 
On our refusing to strike the British Flag the Action 
was renewed with a good dale of warmth on both sides 
and it was our misfortune after the sharp Combat of an 
hour & one half to have expended every Shot of our 
artillery. Under such Circumstances hemmed in as we 
were with 6 Privateers in the middle of an Enemy's 
harbour, beset with a dead Calm, without the power of 
Escaping or even the most distant hope of releife I 
thought it became my duty not to sacrifize the lives of 
Gallant men wantonly in the Arduous attempt of an 
evident impossibility. In this unfortunate affair Major 
Menzies & 7 private Soldiers were killed, the Q" Master 
and 12 private soldiers wounded. The Major was hurried 
in Boston with the Honours of War. 

Since our Captivity I have the honour to acquent you 
we have experienced the utmost Civility and good treat- 
ment from the people in power at Boston, in so much Sir, 
that I should do injustice to the feelings of Generosity, 
did I not make this particular information with pleasure 
& Satisfaction. 

I have now to request of you that so soon as the 
distracted state of this unfortunate Controversy will 
admitt you will be pleased to take an early oppertunity 
of settling a Cartell for myself and Officers." ' 



'In Almon's Remembrancer (Vol. 3, p. 289) is what purports to 
be a copy of tlie lieutenant-colonel's report, and I have in my pos- 



iS SIR ARCH/BALD CAMPBELL. 

The side arms of the officers were restored to 
them, and the Colonel was pleased to report to his 
superior officer the " utmost civility and good treat- 
ment " received from the people of Boston. 

Ezekiel Price, a Boston man, wrote in his diary 
under date of "Sunday, June i6," that the firing of 
cannon was heard in the bay that afternoon ; and 
on the next day he was at Boston and saw the 
officers land on Long Wharf and pass up King 
Street on their way to General Ward's head- 
quarters. Great numbers of people were in the 
streets. General Greene's orderly book contains 
an order issued on the i8th, that "the Highland 
major, who was slain in the last engagement on 
board the ship, is to be buried this afternoon from 
the State House. The Scotch officers will walk 
as mourners, and all the officers in town off duty 
are desired to walk in the procession." 

The commanding officer of the expedition 
was fully justified in saying that, everything con- 
sidered, the result did not reflect dishonor upon 
the officers and men under his command. Great, 
however, must have been the exultation of the 
Americans, whose pluck and persistency had at 



session a MS. copy sent by Campbell at the time to his kinsman, 
Captain Archibald Campbell, for the information of his friends at 
home. This copy was recently obtained through the kindly offices 
of Mr. Duncan Campbell of Craignish, and as it differs in some 
material particulars from the printed report, I have thought best 
to follow the manuscript. 





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SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



19 



length been rewarded by the capture of an officer 
of high rank, together with half his regiment, 
before they could strike a blow in the enterprise 
for which they were really enlisted. Officers and 
men fought bravely until their ammunition failed, 
but with such opponents to contend with, and 
under all the adverse circumstances of the case, 
defeat was inevitable. We note with pleasure the 
courtesies extended by the victors to the van- 
quished, and are glad to know that, thus far, at 
least, our rough, untutored militia had in no 
respect fallen short of what Campbell and his 
brother officers might have expected from vet- 
erans trained in all the etiquette and discipline 
of European armies. 

On the 19th, while Campbell was writing his 
report. Captain Lawrence Campbell, in command 
of the transport " Lord Howe," stood into the 
harbor all ignorant of what had happened, and he 
too was taken into camp by the insatiate rebels. 

The situation at Boston was by no means 
free from embarrassment; for, as a result of these 
operations, more than four hundred (some con- 
temporary accounts say, seven hundred) prisoners 
of war were suddenly thrown into the hands 
of a people who had no sufficient means of 
properly securing and caring for their unwilling 
guests. There was also good reason to fear 
that Commodore Banks, in his slow progress 



20 S/H ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

towards Halifax, might touch at some intermedi- 
ate point, and, learning of the captures in Boston 
harbor, feel impelled to take advantage of any 
favorable wind that might offer, and seek an 
opportunity of doing something to lessen the 
force of the adverse criticism which he was sure 
to encounter when news of the disaster should 
be received by the British commander-in-chief. 

In May preceding the Continental Congress 
had ordered that all persons taken in arms on 
board any prize should be deemed prisoners of 
war, to be taken in charge by the supreme executive 
power in the colony to which they might be 
brought. Officers were not to be permitted to 
reside in or near any seaport town or public post- 
road, nor were officers and privates to be suffered 
to reside in the same place. Secure places must 
be found in the more remote inland towns, from 
which escape would be difficult, and where the 
chances of a successful rescue would be least. 
It was further ordered by Congress that officers 
should be allowed to give their parole, if they 
were willing, those who refused to be committed 
to prison. Prisoners who were not officers might 
be permitted to exercise their trades and to labor 
for the support of themselves and their families. 

Such, in general, were the directions of the Con- 
tinental Congress to the Council of Massachusetts, 
then the supreme executive power in the province ; 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 2 1 

and, accordingly, on June 20, the Highland pris- 
oners were ordered to the interior, in squads of 
one hundred to each of the principal counties. 
The officers were paroled ; but the sheriff desig- 
nated in each order was required to deliver to 
the Committees of Correspondence, Inspection, 
and Safety, in the several towns, all the private 
soldiers who were willing to labor under the 
direction and inspection of the town committee 
in the exercise of their trades, and to confine in 
the county jails all who were not so inclined. 

The Highlanders of the eighteenth century are 
not usually associated in our minds with any occu- 
pation so tame and commonplace as a useful trade ; 
nevertheless, upon the rolls of this regiment men 
are described not only as common laborers, but 
there were also flax dressers, shoemakers, tailors, 
weavers, plasterers, wrights and smiths, a Salter, a 
farmer, a gardener, a butcher, a land surveyor, a 
stocking weaver, a baxter [baker's lad], a road- 
maker, a nailer, and one merchant — making 
altogether a company of varied talents and 
capacity for usefulness that would have been 
a valuable accession to any colony. At this 
particular time, however, their purpose was the 
opposite of peaceful ; they had accepted the king's 
shilling, for the time being their trade was war, 
and to most of them an idle life in jail seemed 
preferable to working at their trades unfettered, 



22 SIR ARCH/ BALD CAMPBELL. 

but under the galling espionage of a Committee 
of Inspection.' Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell and 
seven other officers were ordered to the town 
of Reading and found quarters in the house of 
Captain Nathan Parker, which is yet standing 
near the railroad station in that town, in the 
West Parish, now Reading. 

A retinue of twenty-two servants, including 
four women and two children, went down into 
the country to minister to the comforts and 
pleasures of this band of eight. Among them 
were a cook, a carpenter, a shoemaker, a tailor, 
and a piper. The officers were allowed to go 
about freely within a radius of six miles ; and, 
between the cook and the piper, life was not so 
dull in Reading after all. But the plain country 
people, unused to such splendor of bearing and 
quaintness of apparel, looked with disfavor upon 
the gay, red-coated strangers whose outlandish 
costume and music disturbed the customary 
serenity of their village, and whose repeated 
demands upon the public treasury to feed and 
clothe the servants of their luxurious habits were 



' In one of Campbell's letters it is stated that the soldiers were 
expected to work for their captors without pay; but if this require- 
ment was ever insisted upon it was soon waived, for in a letter from 
Col. James Bowdoin, President of the Council, August 23, 1776, he 
says, that of the Highlanders many and perhaps the largest part of 
the privates were "by their own consent at labour for their subsis- 
tence." — Mass. Archives, Vol. 195, p. 447. 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



23 



well calculated to offend the frugal, self-denying 
farmers of Middlesex, as well as the " people in 
power" at Boston. 

Before long the supplies for the servants 
became irregular, and then ceased altogether, 
the honorable council thinking it " highly reason- 
able " that the ofificers should either support their 
servants, or dismiss them and allow them to go to 
work. Accordingly, we find, about the middle of 
August, that the lieutenant-colonel had dismissed 
four of his servants. One went to work at his 
trade of shoemaking; the other three, refusing to 
work, were lodged in jail. Campbell hired a 
house in Reading and continued to live there 
comfortably with his companions and servants, 
until the capture of General Charles Lee, in 
December, 1776. 

The grief and sense of loss everywhere felt by 
the Americans upon hearing of the capture of Lee 
were succeeded by feelings of indignant resent- 
ment when it was learned that General Howe, 
the British commander-in-chief at New York, 
refused to 'entertain any proposition for the 
exchange of Lee, although Campbell and five 
Hessian field officers were offered as an equiva- 
lent for the dashing but erratic general. Howe's 
orders from the English government even re- 
quired him to send Lee to England by the first 
ship of war, to be tried there as a deserter from 



24 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

the English army ; but the British commander, in 
the exercise of a superior discretion, chose to 
disregard this part of his instructions, and in con- 
sequence of the representations made by him the 
government's mandate was withdrawn or qualified 
in this respect. Then it was that, through a 
curious combination of popular feeling and mis- 
conception of material facts, Campbell's fortunes 
became so closely involved with Lee's as to re- 
quire much of the attention of the chief com- 
manding ofBcers on both sides. 

The demand for retaliation upon the prisoners 
in the hands of our people grew out of the wide- 
spread belief that Lee was being maltreated, and 
this demand was stimulated by the order of the 
English government that Lee should be sent to 
England to be tried for his life before a military 
tribunal. The harsh treatment of Ethan Allen, 
lurid accounts of Indian atrocities on the frontiers, 
the excessive zeal of the tories, and other alleged 
outrages, either perpetrated or connived at by 
the British, were cited as just grounds for retal- 
iation," The order of Congress, pas'sed January 
6, 1777, was as follows: 

Congress being informed that Major-General Lee 
hath, since his captivity, been committed to the custody 
of the provost, instead of being enlarged on his parole, 
according to the humane practice that has taken place 



Almon's Remembrancer, Vol. V, p. 139. 



S/R ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 25 

with officers of the enemy who have fallen into the hands 
of the American troops — a treatment totally unworthy of 
that gentleman's eminent qualifications, and his rank in 
the service of the United States, and strongly indicative 
of farther injuries to his person : 

Resolved, That General Washington be directed to 
send a flag to General Howe, and inform him that, should 
the proffered exchange of General Lee for six Hessian 
field officers not be accepted, and the treatment of him as 
above mentioned be continued, the principles of retalia- 
tion shall occasion five of the said Hessian field officers, 
together with Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Campbell, or 
any other officers that are or shall be in our possession 
equivalent in number or quality, to be detained, in order 
that the same treatment which General Lee shall receive 
may be exactly inflicted upon their persons. 

Ordered, That a copy of the above resolution be 
transmitted to the council of Massachusetts Bay, and 
that they be desired to detain Lieutenant-Colonel Camp- 
bell and keep him in safe custody 'till the farther order 
of Congress, &c. 

On February 20, the situation having appar- 
ently undergone no change, Congress further 

Resolved, That the Board of War be directed immedi- 
ately to order the five Hessian field officers and Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Campbell into safe and close custody, it being 
the unalterable resolution of Congress to retaliate on them 
the same punishment as may be inflicted on the person of 
General Lee. — Journal, February 20th, IJ'/'J. 

This order had already been anticipated by the 
authorities of Massachusetts, who, upon receiving 
notice of the preliminary resolve passed January 6 



26 S/R ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

had ordered that Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell's 
parole be annulled, and that he be placed in the 
keeping of the sheriff of Middlesex; and on 
February i, 1777, the prisoner was committed to 
close custody in the jail at Concord. 

This jail, or "goal," as it is almost invariably 
spelt in contemporaneous writings, was a wooden 
building standing upon ground adjoining the West 
Burying-Ground, on Main Street, and now forming 
part of the estate of the late Reuben N, Rice. It was 
two stories in height, was built of logs and had a 
four-sided roof. Near the end of the last century 
it was superseded by a larger structure of stone 
which stood, until about thirty years ago, behind 
the space between the Middlesex Hotel and the 
County House, now occupied by the Rev. E. J. 
Moriarty. A picture of the old wooden jail, 
which is said to be a drawing made by Camp- 
bell, hangs in the Concord Public Library and 
shows the building as it appeared in Revolution- 
ary times. Within the recollection of persons 
now living it was used as a hatter's shop, and 
later as an adjunct to the stable of Bigelow's 
Tavern, long since demolished. 

The old jail was built in the year 1755, and first 
stood on land bought of Jonathan Heywood, and 
situated on Walden Street near the house now 
owned by Concord's Home for the Aged. It 
adjoined Heywood's house on the northwest side, 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 27 

was thirty feet long and twenty-six feet wide, 
exclusive of entry and stairway. The sides and 
lower floor of the building were of timber seven 
inches in thickness. The plan for its construc- 
tion provided that it should be " divided into four 
rooms " on each floor. 

In January, 1756, it was reported ready for the 
victims of the law, and Jonathan Heywood, a tan- 
ner by trade, was appointed under-keeper and 
soon afterwards obtained an innholder's license. 
It was common in those days, here and elsewhere 
— the combination of a jail with a tavern, both 
under one management. It was a thrifty arrange- 
ment ; for imprisoned debtors could obtain the 
privilege of the " liberties " of the jail by giving 
a bond that they would not attempt to escape ; 
and the superior accommodations afforded by the 
inn close by, compared with the ill-kept rooms and 
wretched fare of the prison, caused many a shilling 
to be diverted from the pockets of the prisoners to 
the landlord's capacious purse. No one then had 
any thought of prison reform in the modern sense 
of the term, but in 1769 complaints from some 
source were loud enough to make the Court of 
General Sessions of the Peace aware of the fact 
" that the Limits of the Prison Yard were very 
much too contracted and thereby rendered very 
nauseous & unwholesome, and also by Reason of 
Gutters for the Wash and Filth of the Prison 



28 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

Keeper's House &c That the Prisoners for Debt 
& others are debarr'd from Water unless they 
purchase the same." The lot on which the jail 
stood contained only about one-sixteenth of an 
acre, and, as Mr. Heywood was unwilling to part 
with any more land, the county bought of Captain 
Ephraim Jones a dwelling-house and about 
one-quarter of an acre of land next to the 
burying -ground on Main Street, and in the 
early spring of 1770, when there was yet a little 
snow on the ground to make things slip along 
easily, the jail was removed to the new lot, under 
the superintendence of Joseph Hosmer, whose 
courage, integrity, and sound judgment five years 
later, at the North Bridge, and subsequently 
throughout the war, won the confidence and 
respect of his fellow citizens. The removal was 
facilitated by the use of rollers, and green trunks 
of trees, called "shoes," which, being made fast 
underneath, slid over the slippery ground like the 
runners of a sled. Twenty-six pairs of oxen drew 
the load, and no doubt large and interested groups 
of spectators were at hand to watch the passage 
of the home of debtors and malefactors along 
the road by the mill-pond, around the corner by 
the old mill, and past the burying-ground to the 
new location prepared for it. From this time 
onwards it was connected with Jones's Tavern, 
afterwards Bigelow's, and Captain Ephraim Jones 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 29 

was appointed keeper under the sheriff of the 
county. 

I find no annals of this fortress of the law 
before the outbreak of the Revolution. On 
the 20th of April, 1775, some British soldiers 
wounded and captured on the preceding day 
were confined here, and from time to time dur- 
ing the war tories and prisoners-of-war were 
consigned to its unpitying chambers, in obedi- 
ence to the orders of the Council at Boston, or 
of a local inquisitorial board, called a committee 
of correspondence or committee of inspection. 
There are interesting memorials of persons con- 
fined here, of officers of the " Falcon " ship-of- 
war and the schooner " Volante ; " of Dr. Josiah 
Jones and Dr. Jonathan Hicks, notorious and 
troublesome tories, who, after sending out in- 
genious and unavailing protests, were fortunate 
enough to be able to cut the knot of their 
difficulties by effecting their escape. There, too, 
was young Robert Campbell, only seventeen years 
of age, who was taken at Falmouth, and proudly 
informed the committee who were appointed to 
examine and search him, that he was " son of 
Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Campbell, who is 
now Lieutenant-Governor of Fort George in 
Inverness, and is one of the first families in 
Scotland." In the language of the report, "said 
Robert Campbell further says he was born in 



30 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



y* army & now has a Recommendation for an 
Ensign's commission in the 35th Regiment." 

On September 25, 1775, a petition was for 
warded by Sergeant Matthew Hayes, eight privates 
of seven different regiments, and one marine, rep- 
resenting that the signers had been confined in 
this jail as prisoners of war "ever since the 19th 
day of April last," and that they were in need of 
suitable clothing to cover their nakedness in the 
approaching cold season. They were, in fact 
taken on the 19th, but were not sent to Concord 
until the 25th, as appears by the following letter 
from General Ward to Colonel James Barrett: 

Head Quarters, April 26th, 1775. 
Sir, 

I am informed that there are a Number of Prisoners 
in Concord Goal, ten of which were conveyed thither 
yesterday that were taken in the late Skirmish, who have 
since that unhappy Event, been at Newton & done some 
Labour; but being absent I cannot judge so well whether 
it is safe to trust them as you may on the spot : — There- 
fore I refer it to you, to do with them, & any other Pris- 
oners of the like sort, as you may think best : pray keep 
them from any Infection that may arise from putting too 
many in one Room : — air them when necessary ; provide 
everything needful for their comfortable subsistence : — 
no doubt you have things convenient for them in Con 
cord ; & will be at some future time satisfied for your 
trouble. 

I am sir &c 

A. Ward. 



SIR ARCH/BALD CAMPBELL. 



31 



Moved by the prisoners' petition, the Council 
empowered and directed Ephraim Wood, one of 
the selectmen, " to provide one Coat, one pair of 
Breeches, one pair of stockings, one shirt, and 
one pair of shoes " for such as were in need ; with 
the assurance that the amount expended for this 
purpose would be refunded. Let us hope that the 
faintness of the assurance did not deter the select- 
men from suitably providing for these men. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell was by far the 
most interesting inmate of the jail, and was for 
some time the prisoner of highest rank in the 
hands of the Americans. Four days after his 
confinement he addressed a forcible but manly 
and dignified letter to General Washington, de- 
scribing his surroundings, and protesting, as one 
soldier to another, against such treatment. He 
addresses Washington in his supposed character 
of " dictator " as follows : 

Concord Goal, 4th Feb'y 1777. 
Sir, 

From the powers which I have lately understood has 
been reposed in y'r ExceH'y as dictator, and from the 
character I have always entertained of y'r generosity of 
sentiment, I am naturally led to use the freedom of 
troubling you with the complaint of an officer, who 
suffers at this instant a treatment more notoriously 
dishonourable & inhuman than has ever existed in the 
annals of any modern war, Y'r Excell'y well knows 
that I was a prisoner at large upon my Parole of honour 
in the town of Reading since the month of June last ; 



32 



S/R ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



during which period, I will venture to pronounce it is 
even beyond the power of malevolent aspersion to charge 
me justly with the most scrupulous violation. The first 
of this month I was carried & lodged in the common Goal 
of Concord by an order of Congress, thro' the council of 
Boston ; intimating for a reason, that a refusal of Gen'l 
Howe to give up Gen'l Lee for six field officers, of whom 
I was one, and the placing of that Gentleman under the 
charge of the Provost at New-York were the motives of 
their particular ill-treatment of me. How far these as- 
sertions may be founded on real matter of fact, & appear 
to your Excell'cy consistent with Justice & the usual 
practices in war, I shall not pretend to determine, but 
when you are well informed of the real circumstances of 
my present situation, of which I am persuaded you are 
still ignorant, you will be a better judge of my usage, 
& weigh as a soldier its propriety. I am lodged in a 
dungeon of about 12 or 13 feet square, doubly planked 
and spiked on every side, black with the grease and litter 
of successive criminals & completely hung around with 
cobwebs. Two small windows, or portholes, not glaz'd 
but strongly grated w'th Iron on the inside and well 
barricaded with shutters on the out, introduce a gloomy 
light to the apartment. Two doors doubly planked & 
locked, shut me from the prisoners yard, and the Goaler 
has rec'd express orders against my going into it, even 
for the necessary calls of nature, and an hole near the 
middle of these doors serves either to admit my victuals, 
or gratify the gaping curiosity of spectators. In the 
corner of the room boxed up to the partition a wooden 
necessary house stands uncovered, which does not seem 
to have been emptied since the first hour of its being 
consecrated to the natural ease of malefactors, and a 
more loathsome black hole decorated with chains & Iron 
rings well rivetted & clinched is granted me from my 
inner chamber, from whence a notorious Felon was but 
the moment before removed to make way for y'r humble 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



ZZ 



serv't, and in which his litter and his Excrement still 
actually remain. This noisy malefactor occupies the 
dungeon on my left, and a few Highlanders of the 71st. 
Reg't. under the same restrictions and hardships with 
myself, for having refused to work for the Americans 
without pay, are my quieter neighbors on the right. I 
am even refused from council, the attendance of a single 
servant on my person, and every kind of intercourse or 
correspondence denied, except what passes through the 
medium of the Goaler. In short, sir, to complete the 
whole, such is my situation, was a fire to take place in 
any one of the chambers, (which are all wood excepting 
the mere chimney stacks) the whole of its Inhabitants 
must perish before the Goaler could go through the 
ceremony of unlocking the doors, notwithstanding I 
think him a man of humanity ; because his house is so 
remote from the Goal, any call or noise from within 
might be difficult, especially in stormy weather to be 
heard, I cannot also help representing to your Excell'y 
the case of Capt. Jno. Walker, bearing his Majesty's 
Commission in Col. Gorham's Corps. This Gentleman 
is huddled into the same Goal & apartment with the 
common men, a treatment highly inconsistent with his 
rank. 

Thus, sir, have I briefly laid before you without exag- 
geration the real state of my treatment, and your own 
feelings as an officer will suggest how far it is consistent 
with the principles of Justice to suffer such dishonour to 
be inflicted on a Gentleman, whose only crime is that of 
being a Lieut. Col. in the service of his Brittannick 
Majesty. When I was first taken prisoner into Boston, 
I rec'd from those who took me and the controuling 
power there, the fairest promises unasked, of my being 
certain of Gentlemanly treatment. And your Excell'y 
and they are no strangers to the Justice I render'd the 
Americans by the most handsome representations to 
Gen'l Howe & my friends in Britain by the letters 



34 -5"/^ ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

which lately passed thro' your hands. But I am per- 
suaded y'r Excell'y is still ignorant of the early shameful 
return made me for a well meant endeaver to suppress 
what but too often happens in such unhappy controversies 
The chance of ill grounded misrepresentation. Sir, the 
truth is, that eight days had scarcely elapsed after my 
first address to Gen'l Howe when I was actually plundered 
of half my private property ; the very necessary articles 
of living, by the Continental Agent Capt. Bradford' of 
Boston, who has since (as I am informed) seiz'd upon 
and disposed of for the dirty consideration of Gain, the 
very side arms of my officers, to whom they had been 
restored by the captors after the action, & afterwards 
lodged in the hands of Major Chase at Boston by order 
of Gen'l Ward. 

I should not have troubled your Excell'y with so 
disagreeable a recital, were I not from my soul persuaded, 



'Captain John Bradford was styled "Agent of the Continental 
armed vessels." He wrote a letter indignantly denying the charges 
laid at his door, but I have been unable to find it. 

"The very necessary articles of living" are more particularly 
described in a letter from Campbell to the Council, dated April 2. 
1777 (Mass. Archives, Vol. 196, p. 357), as follows : 
I Cask Westphalia Hams 
I Do Corn Beef 

1 Do Salt Butter 

5 Do Containing 45 Dozen of Wine. 

Total 8 casks. 

Also 

44 Dozn of Wine 

20 Dozn of Bottled Porter 

10 Dozn of Bottled Beer 

2 Cases of Portable Canteens 

2 Tents and marquees for a Field off' with their apparatus 

complete 
I Do for servants 
I new Spanish Cloak 
I set of Breakfast China. 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



35 



you equally abhor as I heartily despise a treatment so 
exceedingly cruel, mean & ungenerous, and I now look 
forward to you for redress. 

I have the honour to be respectfully 
Sir, Y'r Excell'cy's much 
injured h'ble serv't, 

Arch'd. Campbell Lt. Col. 
71st. Regt. 
His Excell'cy 

Gen. Washington. 

Ten days later, on February 14, Campbell 
wrote to Sir William Howe a similar description 
of his circumstances, in order that his lot might 
be compared with the treatment of General Lee 
in New York. These letters were received about 
the same time, — one by Washington at Morris- 
town, and the other by Howe at New York. 
Howe at once sent a courteous remonstrance to 
the American commander, asserting that Camp- 
bell had " an indubitable right " to be exchanged, 
and that putting him in close confinement was 
"contrary to the tenor of his parole, which is 
binding on both parties." 

Throughout the colonies the people had been 
stirred up by stories of atrocities committed by 
the enemy, and their minds filled with appre- 
hensions of new horrors to come. Negotiations 
for an exchange of prisoners were not favored 
by Congress and were easily hampered and 
obstructed in many ways, as was the case in the 



36 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

war of the Rebellion. The excitement found a 
vent in the retaliatory resolves passed by Con- 
gress. These votes undoubtedly expressed the 
popular feeling of the moment; but Washington 
showed himself superior to the easily aroused 
indignation of a people engaged in a hand-to- 
hand struggle, and the wisdom of choosing him 
to the supreme command of the army has no 
better proof or illustration than is afforded in 
the conduct of this episode in our national 
history. The severity shown to an officer of 
Campbell's rank caused the General great annoy- 
ance, at a time, too, when all his vigilance was 
sorely needed for the direction of active ope- 
rations at the seat of war. Here, however, was 
a wrong, and he promptly undertook to right 
it, so far as it lay in his power to do so. 

The first thing was to write a letter, dated 
February 28, to Colonel James Bowdoin and 
the Massachusetts Council, in which he refers 
to Campbell's letter, saying, " It gives me such 
an account of the severity of his confinement 
as is scarce ever inflicted upon the most atro- 
cious criminals." The resolve of Congress, 
passed January 6, 1777, is quoted in order to 
show that the order of the Massachusetts Coun- 
cil was not justified "upon the most strict in- 
terpretation of the resolve." The General then 
expresses his wish that immediately upon the 



S//? ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



37 



receipt of this letter, the prisoner may be " re- 
moved from his present situation and put into 
a house where he may Hve comfortably." Ap- 
parently the order of February 20, addressed by 
Congress to the Board of War, had not yet been 
communicated to the Commander-in-Chief, for 
after touching upon other matters complained of, 
a postscript suggests that " Colonel Campbell's 
Confinement may be enlarged, without assigning 
the Reasons publicly." The next day Washington 
received notice of the new resolve and courteously 
replied to Campbell's protest in the following 
admirable letter (Sparks, " Writings," Vol. iv, p. 

MoRRiSTOWN, I March, 1777. 
Sir, 

I last night received the favor of your letter, and am 
much obliged by the opinion you are pleased to entertain 
of me. I am not invested with the powers you suppose ; 
and it is as incompatible with my authority, as my inclina- 
tion, to contravene any determination Congress may make. 
But as it does not appear to me, that your present treat- 
ment is required by any resolution of theirs, but is the 
result of misconception, I have written my opinion of 
the matter to Colonel Bowdoin, which, I imagine, will 
procure a mitigation of what you now suffer. I have 
also requested, that inquiry be made into the case of 
Captain Walker, and proper steps taken to remove all 
just cause of complaint concerning him. I shall always 
be happy to manifest my disincHnation to any undue 
severities towards those whom the fortune of war may 
chance to throw into my hands. 

I am &c. 



38 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

In a letter to the President of Congress, of the 
same date, Washington says (Sparks, Vol. iv, p. 334) : 

I was this evening honored with your favor of the 23d 
ultimo, accompanied by sundry proceedings of Congress. 
Those respecting General Lee, which prescribe the treat- 
ment of Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell and the five Hessian 
field-officers, are the cause of this letter. Though I sin- 
cerely commiserate the misfortunes of General Lee, and 
feel much for his present unhappy situation, yet, with all 
possible deference to the opinion of Congress, I fear that 
these resolutions will not have the desired effect, are 
founded in impolicy, and will if adhered to, produce 
consequences of an extensive and melancholy nature. 
Retaliation is certainly just, and sometimes necessary, 
even where attended with the severest penalties ; but, 
when the evils which may and must result from it exceed 
those intended to be redressed, prudence and policy re 
quire that it should be avoided. Having premised thus 
much, I beg leave to examine the justice and expediency 
of it in the instances now before us. . . . Gen'l. Lee's 
usage has not been so disgraceful and dishonorable as to 
authorize the treatment decreed to these gentlemen . . . 
Here retaliation seems to have been prematurely begun ; 
or, to speak with more propriety, severities have been and 
are exercised towards Colonel Campbell not justified by 
any that General Lee has yet received . . . The mischiefs 
which may and must inevitably flow from the execution of 
the resolves appear to be endless and innumerable . . . 
Persuading myself that Congress will indulge the liberty 
I have taken upon the occasion, I have only to wish for 
the result of their deliberations after they have recon- 
sidered the resolves, and to assure them that I have the 
honor to be &c. 

Unwilling to let his appeal rest on this letter 
alone, Washington v^^rote an earnest letter the 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



39 



next day to Robert Morris, begging him to use 
his influence with Congress to annul the resolves. 
" Indeed, sir," he writes, " your observations on the 
want of many capital characters in that senate 
Congress are but too just."' He says that the 
resolves were "entered into without due attention 
to consequences," and were "fraught with every 
evil." After alluding to other business, he recurs 
to the matter which caused him the most concern, 
saying, " But the other matter, relative to the con- 
finement of the officers, is what I am particularly 
anxious about, as I think it will involve much more 
than Congress have any idea of, and that they 
surely will repent adhering to their unalterable 
resolution." By another letter dated March 3d, 
Washington replied to Howe reciting what he 
had done in behalf of Colonel Campbell since he 
first heard of his situation on the last day of 
February, and adding : " I trust his situation will 
be made more agreeable, it being my wish that 
every reasonable indulgence and act of humanity 
should be done to those whom the fortune of war 
has or may put into our hands." 

In spite, however, of the earnest remonstrances 
of Washington, it was resolved, on March 14, 
that he be informed that " Congress cannot agree 
to any alteration in the Resolve passed on the 

' It was wittily said by Gouverneur Morris that this Congress 
had depreciated as much as the currency. 



40 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

6th January 1777. — And as to the complaints 
of Colo. Campbell, it was never their Intention 
that he should suffer any other Hardship than 
such Confinement as is necessary to his Security 
for the purpose of that Resolve." 

Upon receipt of Washington's letter of Febru- 
ary 28, the Council of Massachusetts voted that, 
"Whereas the Goal at Concord where Lieut. 
Colo'l Campbell is now confined is represented 
as a place quite different from what it was sup- 
posed to be when Colo'l Campbell was ordered 
there to be retained and kept in Custody — there- 
fore Francis Dana Esq.' is desired as soon as may 
be to repair to Concord and examine into the state 
of the said Goal and in case Colo'l Campbell can be 
accommodated with a room in the Coaler's House," 
he is to be allowed the privilege of the yard, on 
giving his parole. This partial relief was obtained 
on March 6, and one servant, Peter Ferguson, was 
permitted to attend him. Thus, after being con- 
fined for a month the prisoner was allowed a 
larger liberty; he had a room in the tavern near 
by, was allowed one servant, and was permitted 
to move about in a certain limited space called 
the " liberties of the jail." 

On March 17, in a letter to the Council, he 
gratefully acknowledges the mitigation of his 



Afterwards Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of 
Massachusetts, 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 41 

treatment, but asks permission to return to his 
house in Reading and reside there on parole. 
" The motives," he says, " I had in view by such a 
request were a peaceable retirement from the 
tumultuous noise of a Publick Tavern, and a 
reasonable deliverance from insult, to which I am 
at present unavoidably exposed, from the lowest 
class of passengers, and of which I experience 
almost every day fresh and repeated instances, 
more shameless than I would even choose to 
express." This request was refused. Then came 
a succession of letters in which Campbell acknowl- 
edged that the treatment of him proceeded from 
political necessity and misconception of facts, and 
not from any desire to persecute him, and asked 
that he might be permitted to live in a house with 
his own servants. Concord people appear to have 
treated him well. At least he calls Captain Jones, 
the jailer, a kind-hearted man. He made the ac- 
quaintance of Duncan Ingraham and his wife, 
formerly Mrs. Merrick, who lived across the way, 
and, incidentally, of young Tilly Merrick, whose 
mother, Mrs. Ingraham, kindly took the stranger 
into her house and nursed him when he was ill' 
On May 17, 1777, the Council administered a 



' Twice during the war young Merrick had occasion to cross 
the Atlantic as attache to an embassy, and on both occasions was 
captured by the British. The second time he was so fortunate as 
to meet with Colonel Campbell, who greeted him cordially and 
exerted himself in his behalf. 



42 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

rebuke to " Mr. Nathan Stow Clerk of the Comt^^ 
of Correspondence &c at Concord " for permitting 
Campbell to send a letter to Cambridge by the 
hand of one of the prisoners : 

" The Board are much dissatisfied with your conduct 
in permitting a Highland prisoner of war under your care 
at Concord to go to Cambridge, only to carry a Letter 
from Col. Campbell, whicli might easily have been sent 
by other conveyances. This man went at large at Cam- 
bridge for three days together, and took a view of every 
thing, and conversed with every person he pleased. The 
Board are of opinion that it is extremely dangerous to 
allow such liberties to Prisoners of War and expect that 
for the future the Com*^^ will take effectual care that no 
prisoner of war shall be permitted to go without the limits 
of the Town. 

By order of the Council." 

On May 22, 1777, Howe again protested to 
Washington, " It is with concern I receive fre- 
quent accounts of the ill-treatment still exercised 
upon Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, which I had 
reason to flatter myself you would have pre- 
vented. He has, it is true, been taken out of a 
common dungeon, where he had been confined, 
with a degree of rigour, that the most atrocious 
crimes would not have justified; but he is still 
kept in the jailer's house, exposed to daily insult 
from the deluded populace. This usage being 
repugnant to every sentiment of humanity, and 
highly unworthy the character you profess, I am 
compelled to repeat my complaints against it, and 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



43 



to claim immediate redress to this much injured 
gentleman." (Sparks, Vol. iv, p. 559.) 

The American general complained to Congress 
that, notwithstanding his recommendation, Camp- 
bell's treatment continued to be such as "cannot 
be justified either on the principles of generosity 
or strict retaliation." 

A letter written by General Lee " to the Presi- 
dent of the State or Convention of Massachusetts 
Bay" (Mass. Archives, Vol. 197, p. 25), was received 
about this time and helped to clear up the ques- 
tions of fact involved. The following is a copy : 

"New York May y^ 7th 1777. 
Sir 

It is with the greatest concern (altho it is somewhat 
flattering to me) that I learn a misrepresentation of the 
treatment I receive has been the occasion of Colonel 
Campbel and some other Gentlemen Prisoners with you 
being closely confin'd and in other respects harshly dealt 
with. Sir William Howe as a servant of the Public 
thinks it is incumbent upon him to guard me securely 
but I give you my word and honour that from the begin- 
ning I have been treated with tenderness generosity and 
respect — gratitude truth and humanity impose it upon 
me as a duty to undeceive you on this head, and I am 
confident, the instant you are undeceived, that Colonel 
Campbel and the rest of the Gentlemen will have reason 
to be convinced that what they have suffered ought not 
be attributed to an illiberal way of thinking or want of 
humanity in those who have the direction of affairs in 
Boston, but to the privilege of self defence which fre- 
quently in times of civil contest obliges us to assume a 
severity repugnant to our natures, and I can venture to 



44 -5-//? ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

say that severity and harshness is not the characteristic 
of New England — In short I flatter myself and am per- 
suaded that the moment you receive this note, Colonel 
Campbel and the other Gentlemen will be put in the situ- 
ation which their rank and character entitle 'em to, 

I beg you will believe and assure the other Gentlemen 
of the State that I remain, sir, your and their most de- 
voted humble serv't 

Charles Lee." 



On the authority of Thomas Jones, a tory 
justice of the Supreme Court of the Province of 
New York, who published a history of his times, 
we learn that Lee lived " in genteel apartments, 
supplied at the expense of the nation with 
all the luxuries that New York could afford, 
had friends to dine with him, a good bed to sleep 
upon, into which he tumbled jovially mellow 
every night ; for, to do him justice, he loved good 
fellowship, a long set, a good dinner, and a con- 
vivial glass, when he could enjoy them at any 
other expense than his own." He says further: 
" General Lee was confined in the Council Cham- 
ber in the City Hall, one of the genteelest public 
rooms in the City, square, compact, tight and 
warm. A sentry, it is true, stood at his door. His 
fire-wood and candles were provided for him. He 
had directions to order a dinner every day from a 
public house, sufficient for six people, with what 
liquor he wanted, and of what kind he pleased. 
He had the privilege of asking any five friends he 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



45 



thought proper to dine with him each day. This 
was all furnished at the expense of the nation. 
Hull, who kept the City Arms, in New York, 
waited upon him by General Howe's orders, with a 
bill of fare every morning, and Lee ordered his 
own dinner and his own liquors. It was cooked 
at Hull's and always upon the table at the time 
appointed. His servant had free access to him at 
all times." 

Soon after the receipt of Lee's letter, Campbell 
was allowed to hire a house outside the jail limits, 
which he describes as " situated close under a high 
wooded bank, and surrounded with Marshes, in a 
manner totally excluded from the air and perfectly 
exposed to the sultry heats of the sun." He at 
length began to suffer from bilious fever, and was 
attended by Dr. Danforth of Boston and the sur- 
geon's mate of his own regiment. 

The following letter is preserved in the Massa- 
chusetts Archives (Vol. 197, f. 44) : 

"Liberties of Concord Goal nth May 1777 
Gentlemen 

After repeated testimonies exhibited in the Piiblick 
prints of Boston, with respect to Gen'l Lee being treated 
as a Gentleman in his confinement ; I hope I may again 
be permitted the liberty of addressing the Candour of 
your Hon'ble Board, on the propriety of my removal 
from the common Goal of Concord ; where I am sorry to 
observe, I experience at this late hour a degree of usage 
less becoming than the just principles of Retaliation 
require. 



46 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

In my letter of the 17th of March, addressed to the 
Hon'ble The President of Council, I stated the extreme 
inconvenience and impropriety of my situation at Con- 
cord, together with the objects I had in view by the 
moderate request of a removal ; and I would hope your 
Hon'ble Board on a Reconsideration of the matter, may 
be pleased at this juncture, to honour that request with a 
compliance ; at least so far that I may be removed with 
my servants and effects to some retired habitation in the 
Country, and with a guard upon my person (if thought 
necessary) a ceremonious security better adapted to the 
distinction and feelings of a British Lieut, Col. against 
whom there is no personal charge, than that which I at 
present experience by being ignominiously placed under 
the charge of a Goal keeper. But should reasons of 
Policy render it expedient to remove me at a greater 
distance from Boston, than my former abode at Reading, 
I should esteem it a singular act of kindness in your 
Hon'ble Board, to fix my residence henceforth at Dun- 
stable, or at Lancaster; towns, which I understand are 
pleasant in their situations, weell supplied in provisions, 
and where there are at this period tollerable accommoda- 
tions to Lett. 

I have here annexed for your Hon'ble Board the list 
of servants I wish to have along with me in my confine- 
ment ; as they are all at Reading, one excepted who is 
here with me, named Peter Ferguson. I shall consider 
it as an additional obligation to receive your Order for 
their being sent to whatever quarter you are pleased to 
allot for my future residence ; together with my Baggage 
and those articles belonging to me which are now lying 
at Reading. 

Gen'l Heath having signified that an equal number of 
Americans ought to be released on their paroles, to com- 
pensate for the indulgence of granting me these servants, 
I sent him a letter of Certificate addressed to the British 
Commissary for Prisoners of War at Rhode Island, and I 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. /i^'j 

doubt not but a matter of such justice will be strictly 
agreed to by that gentleman on the certificate being 
presented. 

I have the honour to be with due respect 
Gentlemen 

Your most obed't Humble servt. 
Arch'd Campbell 

Lieut. Col. 71st. Regt. 

List of Servants 
Clerk — John Wilson — volunteer 
Groom — David Johnston ) „ . ^ r- ^ ^■ 
Cook -Arch'd Silver | P™ate Sold.ers 

Do. Wife and 2 Children 
Servants (William Boyd) j ^^^ ^^j^.^^^ ^^^ ^^ 



(Peter Ferguson) 



Prisoners of War Classed 
as such. 



The Hon'ble Council of Massachusetts Bay." 
Again, on May 26, 1777, the following letter 
was addressed to the Council: 

" Gentlemen, 

Lest it should not be consistent with your sentiments 
to grant me, even at this late period, the indulgence of 
being removed from the Liberties of a Goal ; the follow- 
ing request will, I hope, be deemed by your Hon'ble Board 
not to interfere with the nature of that determination. 

Within the Liberties of the Goal at Concord stands a 
house (which I understand is the County house) at present 
in the possession of Mr. Coverly, a Printer, who means in 
a few days to evacuate it. As this house has a Kitchen in 
it, and such other apartments as might for the present 
accommodate me and my servants in a tollerable degree 



48 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

of Comfort, I beg leave to solicit your Hon'ble Board for 
permission to Rent and occupy it, with my servants and 
Baggage, till such time as it may be your pleasure to dis- 
pose of me in a manner better suited to my circumstances, 
as a Prisoner of War. By this indulgence I shall be freed 
from the tumultuous noise of irregular Company and in a 
great measure removed from that unavoidable interference 
with Passengers and other visitors, to whose insults I am 
even at this hour exposed by ray residence at a Tavern 
upon the Publick Road. 

I shall nevertheless be within the liberties of the Goal, 
and shall engage on my Parole of honour, that my servants 
shall strictly conform themselves to the same limitations 
and restrictions to which I am at present confined. The 
honour of your approbation to this request will lay me 
under a singular obligation, and convince me that although 
I have the present misfortune to be under the present 
unmerited confinement, from motives of political necessity, 
yet the Generosity of your Hon'ble Board is disposed to 
soften the rigour of that necessity by such an act of kind- 
ness as may render my confinement as comfortable as the 
nature of the present circumstances will admit. 

I have the honour to be with all due respect 
Gentlemen, 

Your most obedient and 
most humble servant, 

Arch° Campbell 

Lieut Colo'l 71!! Regt. 

Liberties of Concord Goal 
May the 26th 1777. 

The Hon'ble Council of Massachusetts Bay." 



The following letter, which bears no date, was 
addressed to one of his lieutenants, and is interest- 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



49 



ing evidence of Campbell's relations to his subordi- 
nate officers : 

"Dear Sir, 

It would have afforded me much pleasure to have had 
it in my power to agree to your being exchanged, did the 
Interest of His Majesty's service correspond with my 
wishes for your ease and comfort. For me to allow all 
the officers of the 71st to quit their men, on the present 
critical state of our affairs would indicate a degree of in- 
consistency in my conduct, different to what my friends 
would have expected of me ; and for that reason, I have 
determined that Lt. Fraser of the Light Infantry, Lieut. 
McLean of the Gren'ds, & Ensign Fraser of McKenzie's 
Company shall not be exchanged till something shall ulti- 
mately be determined upon with respect to the exchange 
of our Private Soldiers. Having hourly expectation of 
receiving our clothing for those poor fellows, it is neces- 
sary that an officer of each company shall take charge of 
the same and distribute them to the men. Surely you 
Gentlemen cannot expect that I must execute your duty 
in this respect ; or that the men when they are exchanged 
shall not have a single off'r to head or conduct them to 
quarters but the Lt. Colo'l. 

I am sorry to hear of your misfortune in matters of 
intrigue. If the town is too Hot for you, let Fraser and 
you Petition to go to Dunstable ; where there is an excel- 
lent House, cheap living, and kindly neighbors to associate 
with, or to any more favourable spot in which you can live 
in peace and Quiet. Make my desire on this subject 
known to Ensign Fraser ; and acquaint him that there 
has not a single letter come from the Cartel that went to 
New York, 

I have as yet had no account of your Clothes from 
Capt. Smith ; and I must tell you that I have reason to 
believe that Gentleman has too little interest at Boston to 
serve you (if occasion required) in the object of a Partial 



JO SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

Exchange. Content yourself, my friend, with the disap- 
pointment. Soldiers must expect such trifles now & 
then, but be assured, that such as it may appear to you 
at present, no detriment shall fall to your Lot, or that of 
any other of the Officers on account of it. 
I am sincerely your friend 
Arch'd Campbell, 

Lieut. Colo'l 71st Regt. 

P. S. Tell Duncanson that this letter is also an 
answer to his request." 
On the back : 

" Lieut. McLean 

71st Regt Upton." 

On June 10, 1777, Washington wrote frankly 
in reply to General Howe: 

"The situation of Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, as 
represented by you, is such as I neither wished nor 
approve. Upon the first intimation of his complaints, 
I wrote upon the subject, and hoped there would have 
been no further cause of uneasiness. That gentleman, 
I am persuaded, will do me the justice to say he has 
received no ill treatment at my instance. Unnecessary 
severity and every species of insult I despise, and, I 
trust, none will ever have just reason to censure me in 
this respect. I have written again on your remonstrance, 
and have no doubt such a line of conduct will be adopted 
as will be consistent with the dictates of humanity and 
agreeable to both his and your wishes." 

At length, on August 19, Washington received 
authority from Congress to admit Campbell and 
the Hessian officers to their parole, and to propose 
to General Howe that they be exchanged for a like 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



51 



number of our men of equal rank. There was 
more vexatious delay, but Howe at last agreed to 
enlarge the officers in his hands on their parole. 

In November Campbell was allowed to go and 
come anywhere within the bounds of Concord, 
upon giving his parole of honor that he would not 
pass beyond those limits nor give any information 
to the enemy." Another weary winter passed 
under these conditions, but in the spring came at 
last the much-desired relief, and in May, 1778, 
Campbell was exchanged for Colonel Ethan Allen, 
at New York. 

Thus ended a captivity of two years, during 
which time this capable and zealous officer had 
been afforded no opportunity to demonstrate 



'The form of parole prescribed by the Council was as follows 
(Mass. Archives, Vol. 173, f. 572): 

I Archibald Campbell Lt Colo, of the 71!! Regt being made a 
prisoner of war by the Forces of the United State of America, do 
promise and Engage on my Word & honour & on the Faith of a 
Gentleman, that I will remain within the Limits & Boundaries of the 
Town of Concord in the County of Middlesex & will not Depart out 
of the same, during the present War between G. Britt" and the 
United States, or untill the Continental Congress or the Assembly 
or the Council of the State of Massachusetts Bay shall order other- 
wise: And that I will not, directly or indirectly give any Intelligence 
whatsoever to the Enemies of the United States, or do or say any- 
thing in opposition to the measures & proceedings of any Congress 
or Assembly or any Officer of the United States, or of either of 
them, during the present Troubles, or untill I am duly Exchanged or 
Discharged. And I do likewise engage that Peter Ferguson my 
servant who is allowed to attend me, shall be under the same 
restrictions and Limitations with myself. Witness my hand this 
14th Nov! A.D. 1777. 



52 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



his ability as a military leader. But now he 
was to have his revenge — the revenge of a 
soldier. For he was soon placed in command 
of a force of 3,500 men, including the 71st Regi- 
ment, who sailed to the southward from New 
York in November of the same year, under 
orders from Sir Henry Clinton, and escorted by 
a squadron of ships-of-war commanded by Com- 
modore Hyde Parker. The Highlanders were 
mustered one thousand strong, and their fine 
soldierly appearance was favorably remarked 
upon in the publications of the time. 

The object of the campaign was the sub- 
jugation of the southern colonies and the pro- 
tection of the Georgia loyalists. Savannah, the 
first point of attack, was guarded by a small 
force of Americans under General Robert Howe. 
Major-General A. Prevost, then at St. Augustine, 
was ordered by General Clinton to move north- 
ward and assume the general direction of affairs 
at Savannah. This order was dated October 20, 
and received November 27, the very day on 
which the expedition sailed from Sandy Hook. 
Campbell arrived with the fleet off Tybee Island 
on December 23. Learning upon his arrival 
that the Americans were already informed of his 
approach, that their batteries were out of repair, 
that the Americans in the town were few in 
number, but expecting re-inforcements every day, 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 53 

Campbell pushed rapidly forward without waiting 
for re-inforcements to come up, or for the slow 
approach of his superior officer. Captain Hyde 
Parker, acting commodore in command of the 
fleet, actively co-operated. Our people were not 
accustomed to such energy on the part of their 
foes. In the dashing impetuosity of the High- 
land leader there was no trace visible of the slow, 
irresolute, halting tactics of Gage, the Howes, of 
Clinton and Burgoyne. The immediate results of 
the new policy were startling. By one prompt 
movement vigorously pressed Savannah was taken ; 
and our forces, largely inferior in numbers, be it 
said, and unskillfully handled, everywhere melted 
away before the determined purpose of a genuine 
leader of men. Bancroft says : " No victory was 
ever more complete." In ten days Georgia was 
brought under the sway of the British, and the 
campaign virtually ended — all before the arrival 
of General Prevost at the scene of operations 
some time after the middle of January.' 

There is some reason to believe that the brilliant 
and complete success achieved by his subordinate 
in rank was not altogether pleasing to General 
Prevost, and that their subsequent co-operation, 
though outwardly beseeming their respective posi- 
tions, was not agreeable to either. Certain it is 



'See Campbell's report to Lord George Germain, Almon's Re- 
membrancer, Vol. 7, p. 235; Captain Parker's report, id. p. 244. 



54 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

that Prevost adopted a plan of campaign against 
the judgment of Campbell, and with the result 
that most of the ground won by the skill and 
prowess of the Highland chieftain was soon lost 
to the British and never again recovered. 

Campbell soon obtained leave of absence and 
returned home to Scotland,' where, in June, 
1779, he married Amelia, daughter of Allan 
Ramsay of Kinkell, the painter, and son of the 
poet of the same name. It is said that King 
George was especially pleased with Campbell 
because of his success in the Georgia cam- 
paign, and on December 7, 1779, appointed him 
Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica, with the rank 
of Brigadier-General and Aide-de-Camp to the 
King. Here on October 29, in the same year, 
he made a report to the Earl of Shelburne 
concerning two successful engagements with the 
Spaniards, generously giving due credit to the 
officers in command of the British forces on 
those occasions.^ In the year 1782 he became 
Governor of the island, and in the following year 
was commissioned as Major-General in the line. 
In August, 1784, he returned home, bearing 



'In Winsor's History of America (Vol. vi, p. 519 n.) it is said: 
"This attack on Savannah is illustrated in the Faden Map (1780) 
called ' Sketch of the Northern Frontiers of Georgia from the mouth 
of the River Savannah to the town of Augusta, by Lieut. Col 
Arch* Campbell.'" 

'Southey's Hist. W. Indies, II, 534. 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 



SS 



with him an elegant service of plate, presented 
by the assembly of that colony in recognition of 
his distinojuished services. 

On March 9, 1785, Campbell was appointed 
Governor of Fort St. George, at Madras, on the 
southeastern coast of India; and on September 3 
in the same year he was created a Knight of the 
Bath. The patent from the Herald's Office bears 
date of December 22, 1785, and styles the re- 
cipient of the honor " Sir Archibald Campbell, 
Major General of his Majesty's Forces and Gov- 
ernour of Fort St. George in the East Indies." 
This appointment to the important and difficult 
post of Governor at Madras was conferred dur- 
ing the administration of the younger Pitt, and 
when at the head of the Board of Control was 
Henry Dundas, a good friend of Campbell. In 
1786 Earl Cornwallis became Governor-General 
of India, and gave frequent testimony in his 
correspondence to the ability, efficiency, and 
zeal of Sir Archibald Campbell, whom he had 
known favorably in America, and of whom he 
had written, two years before, that he ought to 
have " a commission of General to command in 
chief in India." 

Campbell's first important work in India was 
the new modeling of the forces of the East India 
Company at Madras, according to a plan sub- 
mitted by him before leaving England. In 



56 S//i ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

September, 1786, he was appointed by the King 
and the East India Company Commander-in- 
Chief of the forces on the coast of Coromandel, 
to succeed Lieutenant-General Sir John Dolling. 
Campbell was also mainly instrumental in the 
negotiation of the treaty of February 24, 1787, 
concerning the debts of the Nabob of Arcot, a 
settlement advantageous to all concerned, for 
which he took much credit to himself, saying: 
" The power of the purse and sword is now 
completely secured to the company, without les- 
sening the consequence of the Nabob." 

About this time Cornwallis wrote : " The most 
perfect harmony subsists here ; no Governour ever 
was more popular than Sir A. Campbell ;" and again, 
" I must do Sir A. Campbell the justice to say that 
he seconds me nobly. By his good management 
and economy we shall now be relieved from the 
heavy burden of paying the King's troops on the 
coast, and I have no doubt that his conduct will 
be as universally approved of in England as it is on 
this side of the Cape of Good Hope." 

Notwithstanding this strong testimony to the 
efficiency and popularity of the Governor, clouds 
of criticism and disparagement were already 
gathering at home. The treaty was indeed for- 
mally approved as a whole by the Court of 
Directors of the East India Company sitting in 
London, but a hostile feeling on the part of some 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 57 

of the directors was equally manifest, and every 
opportunity was seized upon to attack him. The 
favorable opinion expressed by him concerning 
the Nabob was quoted against him, especially 
when, a little later, " that venerable prince " was 
openly accused of double dealing. Cornwallis at 
Calcutta deprecated these attacks upon Camp- 
bell, and Mr. Dundas at the seat of government 
did not fail to express his satisfaction with the 
" very high opinion " expressed by the Governor- 
General concerning Campbell's administration. " I 
agree with you and him," he says, " that he is 
very illiberally treated by the Court of Directors, 
but he is not singular in that respect. We are 
all (except your Lordship, as yet) sharers in it." 
Again Cornwallis wrote : " Nothing could give 
me personally greater concern, and nothing, in 
my opinion, could be more fatal to the British 
interest in India than his removal. He has shown 
great ability, and the most perfect uprightness and 
integrity, and possesses the esteem and confidence 
of the civil as well as military part of the settle- 
ment." But these expostulations failed to impress 
the management of the East India Company. An 
administration of affairs that aimed to do justice, 
to enforce economy, and thereby save money for 
the crown did not especially interest the directors. 
They wanted more lacs of rupees for the com- 
pany, and, as for any sympathy with the natives, 



58 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

it was, in their opinion, entirely out of place in 
the transaction of business in India. 

A high-minded man like Campbell, earnestly 
desirous of administering his office honorably, 
faithfully, and with justice to all concerned, may 
withstand opposition of this sort for a season with 
comparative serenity, secure in the approval of his 
own conscience, but the time surely comes when 
he will not or cannot suffer it longer. Some time 
in the year 1787, with a full understanding of 
the influences which were working against him, 
and knowing that the opposition must in the 
end be successful, he gave notice that he should 
retire from his ofifice and return to England 
early in 1789. 

On October 12, 1787, he received a commission 
as Colonel of the 74th Highland Regiment of Foot, 
which was raised by himself, and was one of four 
that were especially designed for service in the 
East.' But notwithstanding the honors which 
were heaped upon him, it is only too evident 
that this faithful and high-spirited public servant 
realized that in India it was impossible for him to 
serve God and the King, and at the same time 
commend his administration to the managers of 
a trading corporation, whose anomalous relations 



* Brown's History of the Highlands, &c. Edinburgh and Lon- 
don, 1859. 



SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 59 

to the government caused frequent embarrassment 
to ministers of the best intentions. In February, 
1789, Sir Archibald resigned his office and com- 
mission in the East, and sailed for home with 
health sadly impaired, and, although he had given 
the directors ample notice, before they were able 
to agree upon a successor in his office.' 

In the following year he was unanimously 
re-elected to Parliament and took his seat for the 
district formerly represented by him. Sir James, his 
brother, having resigned in his favor. But the 
change from the climate of India to that of the 
British Isles was too much for a constitution 
already weakened by a four years' sojourn in 
the East. He caught cold on a hurried journey 
from Scotland, on being sent for to consult with 
the government concerning an armament which 
was being made ready by reason of a dispute 
with Spain concerning trade to the northwest 
coast of America. He felt obliged to decline the 
command which was offered him because of the 
state of his health, and although a visit to Bath 
was somewhat beneficial, death came upon him 
at his home in Upper Grosvenor Street, London, 
on March 31, 1791, in the fifty-second year of 
his asfe. 



'For Campbell's life in India, see Correspondence of Charles, 
first Marquis Cornwallis ; London, 1859; ^^so Mill's History of British 
India; London, 181 7. 



6o SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

The whole career of Sir Archibald Campbell, 
his letters, the letters of Washington, and the 
uniformly favorable comments of contemporaries, 
all go to show that he was a gentleman in a 
true and universal sense — courteous, high-minded, 
considerate of others, a faithful and efficient ad- 
ministrator of affairs, a brave and accomplished 
officer. In a letter of one of General Howe's 
field officers he is spoken of as " our worthy 
friend," whose capture "gives unexpressible con- 
cern to his friends, who you know are numerous." 
Dr. David Ramsay, the American historian, de- 
scribes him as " a humane man and a meritorious 
officer," who, although " he had personally suffered 
from the Americans, treated all who fell into his 
hands with humanity, his course in this respect 
being in marked contrast with the conduct of his 
successors in command." 

Having no issue. Sir Archibald bequeathed 
the greater part of his fortune to his two surviv- 
ing brothers. Sir James Campbell and Commis- 
sary Duncan Campbell, in equal shares, but 
subject to the payment of some legacies, and a 
jointure to the widow of one thousand pounds 
sterling per year. To his nephew. Captain James 
Campbell, eldest son of Sir James, he gave all 
his military books, instruments, and drawings, 
also his arms, " knowing that he will never tar- 
nish them." The brothers caused a monument to 



S/J? ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 6 1 

be erected over the remains, in the Poets' Corner 
of Westminster Abbey, upon which is inscribed 
the following: 

Sacred to the memory of Major General Sir Archi- 
bald Campbell, Knight of the Bath, M. P., Colonel of the 
74**" Highland Regiment of Foot, Hereditary Usher of 
the White Rod for Scotland, late Governor of Jamaica, 
Governor of Fort St. George, & Commander-in-Chief 
of the Forces on the Coast of Coromandel in the East 
Indies. He died equally regretted & admired for his 
eminent civil & military services to his country, pos- 
sessed of distinguished endowments of mind, dignified 
manners, inflexible integrity, unfeigned benevolence, with 
every social & amiable virtue. He departed this life 
March 31'*, 1791, aged 52. Heu pietas, hen prisca fides 
et bellica virtus. Qtiando Habitura Parent. 

Following is a copy of the inscription on the 
stone in the floor over the grave : 

Sir Archibald Campbell 
of Inverneil. 
Knight of the most honorable order of the Bath, Major 
General of His Majesty's Forces, Colonel of His Majesty's 
74*^ Highland Regiment of Foot, Hereditary Usher of 
the White Rod for Scotland, late Governor of Jamaica, 
afterwards Governor of Fort St. George and Commander- 
in-Chief on the Coast of Coromandel in the East Indies. 
He died 31^* March, 1791, in the 52'* year of his age. 

Surely, at this distance in time the loyal sons 
of America need not hesitate to award to the 
memory of this remarkable man full measure of 
respectful recognition, even though he was op- 
posed in arms to our fathers in their great 



62 SIR ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. 

struggle for full political rights. By reason of 
the hard fortune of war it was impossible, in the 
nature of the case, that he should have enjoyed 
his sojourn in Concord, but we of a later genera- 
tion must needs regret that his enforced residence 
in our town was not made pleasanter, or at least 
less irksome to him. Possibly we may think it 
especially incumbent upon us, so far as it rests 
in our power, to see to it that he be remembered 
with that just appreciation of his merits which 
in his lifetime, because of untoward circumstances 
and the harshness born of warfare, was not be- 
stowed upon him by our fathers. 



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